


Stop to Smell the Roses

by a_very_smol_frog



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff, Human Meruem, I finished CAA, Mending my broken heart, and im not ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26762533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_very_smol_frog/pseuds/a_very_smol_frog
Summary: Meruem meets a blind woman sitting in a rose garden, but after talking to her he realizes he was the one who couldn't see all along.
Relationships: Komugi/Meruem
Comments: 13
Kudos: 159





	Stop to Smell the Roses

**Author's Note:**

> I finished CAA and of course cried like a fucking baby. I made this sweet little one shot in an attempt to soothe my soul. Please enjoy my coping mechanism.

Meruem had a very strict routine. Every morning he woke up at exactly 6:30am sharp. He ate a light breakfast of a single poached egg and a vanilla protein shake and then he went on a 7 mile jog. Every day he took the exact same route and had timed it perfectly so that it took him 45 minutes to complete. Then he came home, showered, and arrived to work by 8:15am. 

His routine was sacred to him. He treated every aspect of his life with this same rigidity, and anytime he had to defer from it he was in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Within chaos bred destruction and order was the tamer of chaos. If he had every minute scheduled and planned then there was no opportunity for anything to go awry. Meruem enjoyed going to sleep every night knowing exactly how his day would go when he awoke. 

Today everything had been right on schedule. He was halfway through his jog when he crossed the street into the small neighborhood park he ran through on all of his morning exercises. He had never stopped to enjoy the park any further than the narrow path he ran down. There wasn’t a need. Visiting the park wouldn’t benefit him in any way. Staring at trees and dirt would not improve his life or help his mental health. Only common people enjoyed trivial things like ponds full of ducks and rickety swing sets, and Meruem would not reduce himself to their pitiful level. 

He rounded a bend in the path that would eventually lead him back onto the city streets but large barricades of orange stopped him short. In front of him the rest of the paved path was ripped to shreds, clearly no longer suited for running. 

Meruem clicked his tongue, displeased by this interruption in his routine. He turned around and backtracked a few hundred feet to a fork in the path and took the right as opposed to his usual left. Hopefully this would lead him back out to the south end of the park. 

Obviously, the road would not be fixed for quite some time meaning that he would have to change his direction for the foreseeable future. He looked down at his watch. Already he was 3 minutes off schedule and he could feel his mounting frustration stirring in his chest. 

It seemed as if this path led through a small section of the park that had been converted into a rose garden. This early in the morning there were very few people in the park, which was why Meruem was mildly surprised to see a woman sitting on one of the benches nestled between the overgrown bushes. 

She was petite, with lily white hair, and dressed in a pale pink sundress. Her eyes were closed and her face calm. There was no book in her hands, no companion at her side, it seemed as if she had come to the park with the soul intent to sit with her eyes closed in the plants. 

Meruem scoffed. People were ridiculous. As he jogged by he didn’t say hello, ask how her morning was, or even offer her a second glance. He noticed her head turn towards him as he stepped in front of her, but still her eyes did not open. 

The path did let out on the south end of the park, but it was longer than his usual route and he arrived back to his apartment 8 minutes behind schedule. For the rest of the day people cowered in his shadow, dodging him in the halls, trembling when he called their names. He had hardly been at work for 15 minutes and had already fired 2 people for their incompetence. Even his annoyingly doting assistant, Pouf seemed to wilt in his presence. 

When he went to bed that evening he set his alarm for 10 minutes earlier than usual. He mentally planned his new jogging path in his head so that tomorrow morning he would be sufficiently prepared. Meruem hated changes in his routine but some things were unavoidable, like city maintenance, but now he had adapted to the abrupt change and once again could enjoy the calming reassurance of his ordinary regimen. 

\---

The next morning Meruem found himself jogging down what he had mentally begun to call the Rose trail. As he his feet carried him down the right hand fork of the path he looked down at his watch and smiled softly when he saw that he was on schedule. 

As he came up to the jungle of petals and thorns he saw the same woman from the previous morning sitting in the exact same position he had left her in yesterday. Today the only notable difference was her dress was dark green in color. 

Meruem couldn’t understand how someone enjoyed wasting their time doing something as useless as sitting in a scraggly patch of roses. He moved down the path, growing closer to her one step at a time, and was just about to pass her when his eyes fell onto the thin white cane in her hands. 

His steady gait came to an abrupt halt. 

“You are blind?” The woman jumped at his voice, turning her face towards his direction. Still her eyes did not open. 

“Y-yes I am.” Her voice was feeble and weak. It was a wonder that she bothered to speak at all with how pathetic she sounded. 

“Then why do you come to sit in a garden of flowers if you can’t even see them? The point of a garden is to appreciate the flower’s beauty and yet you cannot do so.” Biologically that was the purpose of the vibrant colors nature painted on each of soft petals. They were meant to draw creatures in close in hopes that the beast, insect, or human would carry away its pollen and deposit it on another plant nearby. 

“Oh um well I d-don’t need my sight t-to tell that t-they are beautiful.” Meruem clicked his tongue. 

“That is foolish of course you need your sight to appreciate their beauty.” He had decided that he was through having this conversation. Obviously the woman was dim and he did not have the time to spare to thoroughly explain how much of the world she would never understand because of her handicap. 

Without allowing her to say another word he began his jog again, leaving the foolish woman to waste her time. 

He glanced down at his watch and huffed out a sigh in annoyance. Her idiocy had caused him to run 5 minutes behind schedule. 

For the rest of the day her words echoed through his mind. How could she believe that she could appreciate the beauty of flowers without sight? 

“Meruem sir, would you like me to go fetch your lunch for you?” The sound of Pouf’s voice brought Meruem’s attention back to his office. He scowled at the question. 

“Of course I do. Do you not go get me my lunch at this time every day? Why would I suddenly not want you to bring it to me today of all days?” Was today some national holiday and the general populace celebrated it by saying idiodic things, or had people always been this unintelligent and today it was even more apparent than usual. 

The blonde gave a deep bow. 

“I apologize sir, you are correct it was foolish of me to ask. I will go fetch it for you now.” Meruem watched him leave the office and close the door with a soft click. He stared out the large floor length windows surrounding him, and found himself wondering if that foolish woman was still sitting in the park staring at nothing. 

\---

Today it rained. The light sprinkle was just enough to chill Meruem to the core but not enough to bring the chorus of lightning and thunder that he enjoyed listening to while sitting in his office with a warm cup of coffee. 

He passed through the rose garden today and his eyes fell upon an empty bench. The flowers seemed closed in on themselves, as if the plants were scared the drizzle would cause the scarlet and magenta to bleed from the petals. 

For some reason the sight made him melancholy. 

At the office he fired 3 people and made an intern burst into tears during her presentation. 

The rain continued for the rest of the day, and even though he was inside and dry, Meruem still felt chilled to the bone. 

\---

On Saturdays Meruem took extra time on his morning jog, doubling his length to 14 miles as opposed to his usual 7. His route for this was different from the one he took on weekdays, but when he left his apartment this morning he found his feet taking him back down the familiar route towards the rose garden. 

The woman was there, sitting quietly on her normal bench, but today she was not alone. 

A haggard looking man was standing in front of her, leaning into her space. Meruem could see her plaster herself against the wooden back of the bench, attempting to put as much space between her and the intruder as possible. His long dark hair was greasy and matted, and even from a distance Meruem could tell his stench was fowl. 

As he jogged closer he could hear their conversation. 

“Come on I only need $5. I haven’t eaten in days, miss. Take pity on an old man.” The woman clutched her cane to her chest and turned her face away. 

“I-I-I am terribly s-sorry but I do not have any money.” A filthy hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. 

“Listen here you greedy bitch. Give me your money.” From his pocket he pulled out a long switchblade, pressing the cool metal to her neck. Tears leaked out of her scrunched up eyes and she began to tremble.

“Leave. Now.” Meruem stopped in front of the bench beside them. He had never been a vain man, but he also knew that with his physique he had nothing to be insecure about. Regular cardio kept him lean while weightlifting had given him a broad chest and sturdy arms. He stood tall, towering over most, and radiated an authority that made him a titan amongst men. 

The man sneered up at him and turned so the knife was pointed at Meruem’s chest instead of the woman’s throat. 

“This has nothing to do with you buddy so what don’t you just back off before you get hurt.” Meruem rolled his eyes. Anyone with any basic knowledge of self defence could disarm this cretin in seconds. 

With ruthless efficiency Meruem grabbed the man’s wrist with one hand and turned it counterclockwise until he heard a satisfying crunch. The knife clattered to the ground as the man cried in agony. Meruem savagely rotated the appendage even further, causing the fool to buckle under the pain and fall to his knees. 

“Please please stop! I’ll leave! I’m sorry!” He squealed like a pig, but even a filthy swine was worth more than this pathetic fool. 

Meruem released his wrist and the man immediately scrambled through the dirt, trying to crawl away from him. His beady eyes glanced at the knife but Meruem eliminated any chances of retrieving it by placing it under his foot. 

The imbecil shot him a weak glare before spitting at the ground in front of Meruem’s feet and running off. Meruem watched him leave with a bored expression. 

He turned back to the woman to find her in the same position as she was before, quivering and crying silently on the bench, still clutching her useless cane to her chest. Meruem noticed a small stream of red dripping down her throat, staining the pale yellow dress she was wearing. 

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

“Why did you not call out for help?” He asked as he sat down on the bench next to her, reaching out to tilt her chin so he could better examine her wound. She jumped at the touch but didn’t pull away. 

“I-it is e-early so I didn’t t-think anyone w-would hear me.” 

“That was a foolish thought. You are blind and therefore could not have been certain that someone wouldn’t have been able to hear you. What would you have done if I had not come?” The wound on her neck was not deep, but it bled freely, and by the state of its owner Meruem had no doubts that the knife was far from sterile. 

He had nothing in his possession that could be used to clean the cut and it was clear that she carried nothing but her cane. 

“Come. Your wound needs to be cleaned.” He stood up off the bench, standing in front of her and waiting for her to follow. A shocked expression washed over her face. 

“Oh no no please I cannot intrude on your day any more. Please do not waste your time on someone like me.” At least she had no illusions about her uselessness. 

“It will get infected if not properly cleaned and you yourself cannot do it. Do you live alone?” Hesitantly she nodded her head. 

“Well then you require my help. Quickly now, I have other things that require my attention today.” Still she did not stand. 

“H-how do I know that you w-won’t try to hurt me as well?” Meruem wanted to point out that he had just saved her from that disgusting man, but he bit his tongue. She had every right to be weary. A petite young woman, blind nonetheless, was the ideal target for lowest lifeforms of society. He actually applauded her for making a wise decision not to follow him like some lost puppy. 

“There is a pharmacy on the corner. Have you been there before?” She nodded her head. 

“Well then I will walk there and buy the appropriate supplies to address your wound, and return to you here.” 

“N-no please sir I could not as-ask you to spend your money on me!” Meruem let out a scoff. He was the chief executive officer of C.A.A, a multibillion dollar medical research facility. Spending a few paltry dollars on disinfectant wipes and bandages would hardly impact his finances, but he supposed she had no real way of knowing this. 

“Please stop your whimpering. If you insist you can pay me back at a later date.” Meruem reached down into the dirt and collected the discarded switchblade, pressing the small button on the side so that the contraption once again closed in on itself. He reached down and grabbed her hand, pressing the handle into her palm. 

“If that swine returns, use this to defend yourself instead of sitting here uselessly.” He guided her pointer finger to the release switch. 

“Press this button and the blade will release.” Her hand was trembling, and Meruem wondered if the knife would do her more harm than good. 

“I will return shortly.” And with that he left her there on the bench secluded in the roses. There was an uneasy feeling in his chest as he turned his back on her and made his way to the pharmacy. The image of that disgusting man leaning over her, touching her, threatening her, kept reply in his mind. Every second he was away could mean her demise. 

How did she ever leave the house? The world was full of people who wanted to take advantage of the weak, and she was as helpless as a newborn lamb. Was this the first time she had ever been attacked, or was it the most recent on a long list of instances where she had feared for her life? If that was the case then did she hold herself in such a low regard that despite the risks she still ventured out every day, or was sitting blindly in an overgrown garden worth the possibility of danger?

Meruem found himself indiscriminately reaching into the shelves of the first-aid supplies, throwing whatever his fingers touched into the basket before quickly making his way to the register. His hurried pace did not slow until he was once again in the park and his gaze fell upon a head of lily white hair, still seated exactly where he left her. 

He let out a deep breath, but then stopped. Why had he been so worried in the first place? This woman was not his responsibility. Why did he care about her safety?

When he walked up the path towards her, she instinctively moved towards the sound, white knuckles clenching the knife in her hand. 

“Relax, it is just me.” Immediately all of the tension bled out of her body and she dropped the knife. It fell with a muted thump into the grass below her feet. 

“T-thank you.” She whimpered. Still she trembled and flinched under his touch. Perhaps this had been the first time she had been attacked. 

Silence stretched between them as Meruem cleaned the cut on her neck. Apparently in his frenzy he had grabbed both alcohol wipes and disinfectant cream. It was redundant but he applied both to the wound. The woman hissed when he swiped the wipe against her cut. 

“I apologize, but this needs to be cleaned.” 

“I-it is alright….thank you...but please y-you don’t have to do this. I-I don’t want to b-b a bother.” Meruem applied a dollop of the clear gel to her neck. 

Why was he helping her?

Well one obvious answer was that she couldn’t help herself. She was defenceless against the man who was assaulting her, and it was his civic duty to step in and offer his assistance. Now because of her handicap he doubted she would be able to properly clean her cut, and if it were to get infected it could cost her her life. But he could have just told her to go to an emergency clinic, or ask a friend to assist her. 

He himself did not need to sit on this bench and gently apply the beige bandage to her skin, smoothing his thumb over it so it did not crease. She shivered under his touch. 

He found himself answering before his mind had clearly registered the words leaving his mouth. 

“You are not a bother.” What had he just said? Clearly, she was inconveniencing him, forcing him to take time out of his routine to ward off her attackers and treat her wounds, but even then he found that his words rang true. 

During this entire interaction he had not once thought about how his schedule was in ruins now. There was no feasible way for him to complete his normal jog remotely close to his normal time. His Saturday ritual had been upheaved, but yet he felt no anger bubbling in his chest, only an odd sense of calm as he leaned back thoroughly satisfied that her cut would not get infected.

He heard a sniff next to him.

Large tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks and her shoulders began to shake with silent sobs. 

Meruem’s eyes widened with panic. 

“Why are you crying?” His hands reached out to grab her shoulders, running down her arms looking for any wounds he had missed. Had he hurt her while cleaning her neck? How could he have been so careless with such a fragile woman?

“N-no one ha-has ever b-been this nice t-t-to me before!” She whimpered, weeping into her hands. Meruem sat next to her speechless. 

Why did his heart ache for her? How had this woman experienced so little warmth in the world and not managed to crumble under the despair? Why did he want to make sure she never felt alone again?

He tried to gently soothe her but comforting someone was well out of his wheelhouse. The majority of the time people were crying  _ because _ of him and he left his subordinates to clean up the mess. 

After a few moments her cries were reduced to sniffles, and Meruem relaxed. She messily wiped the tears and snot off of her face with her shirt sleeves before turning her face to him. Through the entire interaction she had not once opened her eyes, and even though Meruem knew they were useless for sight, he still wondered why she kept them closed.

“What is your name?” The question surprised him. Since first seeing her she had scarcely left his mind, but all this time he had been referring to her as the woman, or the blind woman. Not once had he thought to ask her for her name, but truthfully he never would have guessed they would interact this much. 

“Meruem.” She hummed at his answer, pondering it for a moment before replying. 

“Thank you Meruem sir. My name is K-Komugi.” A plain name for a plain woman, but it suited her. 

He stood up off the bench. She had interrupted his day enough, and his assistance was no longer needed. 

“I am leaving now. Take the rest of the first-aid supplies home with you, I have no use for it.” Komugi scrambled up off the bench to stand next to him but in her haste she lost her balance and began to tip forward. Meruem’s arms reached out to grab her, and suddenly he was clutching the petite woman to his chest. Her cheeks flamed bright red and she quickly pushed herself out of his arms. Meruem’s heart picked up a quick staccato rhythm. 

“Please M-Meruem sir l-let me thank you in some way. I-I have done nothing to d-deserve your kindness.” 

_ Did someone have to do something to earn kindness? Shouldn’t being alive be the only prerequisite? _

Meruem found himself baffled at that thought. Only the strong survived in this world. Intelligence, determination, money, those were what separated the hammers from the nails. 

As far as he knew Komugi had none of these things, and yet….and yet he found himself wanting to watch over her; an ever present shadow so that when danger crept in he could emerge from the darkness to keep her safe. 

He was powerful, rich, and handsome. There was nothing Komugi could give him that he didn’t already have or couldn’t acquire himself.

There was only one thing that came to mind. Yes, he knew what he wanted from her now. 

“Will you be here tomorrow?” Komugi nodded her head pensively. 

“I will come back here at this time tomorrow and I would like for you to explain what you told me when we first spoke. How can you see the beauty of the roses without your sight?” 

A warm smile bloomed across her face, and Meruem couldn’t help but think the garden around them looked more drab in comparison. 

“Of course M-Meruem sir, I would be happy to.” 

And so Meruem left her standing there in an overgrown oasis of green in a concert jungle with her promise. He found himself walking home and things he had never noticed before caught his eye. A bakery on the corner where the delicious smell of fresh pies wafted out onto the street. The sound of music floated through the air from street performers sharing their art. Children played on the sidewalk, jumping and skipping across chalk scribbles while they sang little rhymes. 

There was a mural painted on the side of a large brick building; a man dressed in fine robes bowing down to a woman in rags. At his feet was a broken and bent crown and the woman’s hands were buried in his hair, clutching him close to her. 

Below them in large script there were words. 

_ From love humanity is born. _

What were once before gray streets that slipped past him in a blurr were now covered in splashes of color and life. Flowers bloomed in the cracks, laughter could be heard over the traffic, and what he once thought was empty now flourished. 

Maybe it wasn’t just the streets that were alive. Maybe a stone inside him had cracked, and now something warm oozed into his being. 

It was different. He saw the world through a new light, glasses tinted in rose instead of gray, but maybe he didn’t mind. 

Maybe he liked it. 

\---

The next morning when Meruem left his apartment he felt hesitancy in his steps. His whole life he had marched forward with determination and resoluteness. There was never any room for doubt because he was confident in every decision he made. 

But he found himself jogging well below his normal pace, and arrived at the park 10 minutes past his scheduled time. He knew she would be there before he saw her, but he still paused when his eyes fell on a head of lily white hair. 

All she promised to do was explain to him how she saw beauty without sight, but still Meruem felt the same mix of excitement and trepidation one felt before doing something monumental. It was like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and he knew the parachute on his back would help him land safely, but a primal part of his brain still screamed in fear. 

Why did it feel like his life would never be the same after this conversation? Like something would be set in motion after this morning and it would grow momentum too quickly for him to run, leaving him defenceless and swept up in the storm. 

Komugi’s face turned in his direction when she heard footsteps. There was a tenseness in her shoulders. 

“Good morning.” A heavy sight left her lips at the sound of his voice, and she relaxed against the bench. Meruem didn’t know why that pleased him so much, that she immediately felt relief in his presence, but an undeniable warmth spread throughout his chest nonetheless.

“G-good morning Meruem sir.” He sat down next to her. 

“You don’t need to address me with the formality. Meruem is just fine.” Not even Pouf, who had been his assistant for the better part of a decade and was the closest thing he could consider a friend, had been offered that privilege, but Meruem wanted Komugi to view him as an equal not a superior. 

“Y-you said yesterday you wanted me t-to explain to you how I know that the roses are b-beautiful without my sight?” Meruem noticed her quick change of the subject but did not push the topic any further. 

“Yes.” 

Komugi reached out with a pale delicate hand and grasped his. His hand dwarfed hers in comparison. Where his fingers were rough hers were soft, his dark hers light, his strong hers feeble. They looked so different in comparison and yet Meruem felt something click into place inside of him, something that hadn’t he never noticed was there, but now in this moment it was obvious. 

It just felt right. 

“Close your eyes.” Her voice was soft, a whisper almost carried away by the soft spring breeze. 

Meruem followed her instructions. 

“Just take a moment to let the darkness settle around you. Without your sight your other senses will heighten, and things hidden right under your nose will suddenly become clear.”

Komugi spoke with more confidence now, not stumbling or stuttering over a single word. Meruem would not have been entirely sure it was still her speaking to him if he did not feel her fingers clasped in his. Her thumb rubbed smooth circles into the back of his hand and he found himself lost in the motion, hypnotized by the gentle touch. 

“Can you hear the leaves rustling gently in the wind? The bushes aren’t trimmed often and have grown out of control.” Meruem focused and could hear the light fluttering as the breeze pushed through the vines and made them sway. 

“You can smell them. Their scent isn’t strong but it is sweet. Like the kiss of a gentle lover.” 

He had never noticed before, but now it was undeniable. Every breath in was filled with the subtle smell. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet, like a cheap perfume, but just enough to have you leaning in to take another inhale. 

His hand moved, palm up, and inside he felt Komugi deposit a single rose. Her fingers moved his to trace against the petals. They felt like satin under his fingertips.

“The petals are full and wide. They haven’t been eaten by bugs or blown away. They’re strong and healthy, full of life and vibrancy.” 

Meruem felt overwhelmed. All of the senses that had been so dull to him before were now overpowering him, making him view the world in a new light. Before he had only focused on what was directly in front of him and over the horizon, never before had he bothered to stop and see what lay in another direction. 

It grew in his chest, pummeling against his sternum, racing through his veins. He felt his breath catch in his throat, and no gulp of air was enough to fill his lungs. 

His eyes flew open. He couldn’t take it anymore. It was all too much. Before he had been so blind, and this new sight was paralyzing. 

The world laid before him was still the same, except for one notable difference. Before Komugi’s eyes had always remained closed, but now Meruem stared into a seafoam green gaze. 

Even though he knew she was blind, it seemed as if she was staring directly at him, not at his face but straight into his soul. 

“Do you understand now Meruem? How I see their beauty?” 

Looking at her now, into eyes that saw nothing and yet had taught him how to witness the world in a way he had never imagined, Meruem knew he would never be able to see the world the same. 

Before he had only seen the world in a black and gray haze, but Komugi had brought colors he hadn’t even known existed.

It felt like he was opening his eyes for the first time.

“Yes.” He breathed. 

Komugi’s eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled, and Meruem swore he saw a spark swimming in the light green oceans. 

Sitting here with her now, Meruem finally understood the meaning of the word beauty. 

To him it was defined by white hair, a seafoam gaze, and untamed roses.

It was  _ breathtaking _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Its fine. Its all fine. They're just sleeping and when they wake up they'll continue to play Gungi. Everything IS FINE!


End file.
